The Dania Beach Vervet Project
About Our Project
Our Founder,
Dr. Missy Williams, Ph.D.
We are a group that believes in compassionate conservation. Compassionate conservation merges animal welfare and conservation science to promote the respect, justice, and compassion of all wildlife. We recognize that all individuals matter and encourage a peaceful coexistence of human-wildlife interactions. The need for this approach is crucial as it is estimated that up to 50% of all species on the planet will disappear within the next 50 years (Koh et al. 2004). Compassionate conservation is an innovative framework that helps reshape our current conservation and management practices.
How Can You Help?
There are many ways to show support for the monkeys:
- We need donations of materials to help create our monkey house and sky trail systems. Please click this link to see our list of supplies needed to create our dream sanctuary.
- Are you great at fundraising and event planning? We welcome those people who have that knack for creating fun, successful events.
- We will need help getting the property ready for the construction of the sanctuary. Overgrown bushes need trimming. Trash and debris need to be removed.
- Donate and encourage others to donate.
Get Involved with Our Monkeys
Our Goals
We hope to build a large sanctuary to house the monkeys to reduce human interactions and urban hazards.
We have lost several monkeys over the years due to electrocutions, car collisions, and severe wounds of unknown origins.
Due to their non-native status, we cannot treat and release the monkeys back into the mangroves.
The captured animal will be either euthanized or placed into a permitted facility which typically participates in the pet trade.
We want to provide a home for these monkeys to live out their natural lives in a safe and enriching environment. Please consider donating to help us reach this goal.
Our Petition
Please sign the Born Free petition to save the monkeys!
Hundreds of non-native, free-living green monkeys call the Caribbean territory of St. Maarten home. Now, the government plans to kill these animals as a means of controlling the monkeys’ growing numbers.
Please sign and share our petition to the government of St. Maarten, calling for the development of a humane sterilization program that will save the monkeys’ lives and prevent further population growth.
PARTNERS
ENDORSEMENTS
Michele Lazarow
Hallandale Beach Commissioner
The beloved monkeys of Dania Beach have called South Florida home for years. The Dania Beach Vervet Project is working to secure the future of these beloved animals through progressive management ideas that prioritize compassion, welfare, and conservation above all.
Animal Rights Foundation of Florida
Dr. Kate Detwiler
Associate Professor of Anthropology, F.A.U.
The Dania Beach Vervet Project is stepping up to fill a critical role in our community—offering protection and care for the monkeys alongside research to better understand their lives in the industrial landscape of South Florida.
A message from Dr. Missy
Primate experts and conservationists are asking Sint Maarten to stop the cull of the island’s green vervet monkeys. The government approved a plan to kill 450 monkeys using $500,000 funded by tax payers. Our collaborative group is offering to sterilize the monkeys and mitigate current monkey-human conflict with humane deterrents. Please join us today to save the monkeys from an unnecessary and cruel death. Sign and share the petition linked on this page. Reach out directly to the government to ask them to stop the slaughter, minvromi@sintmaartengov.org Thank you for your support.
